Recent Advances in Carbon–Semiconductor Nanocomposites for Water Remediation
01 Jan 2018-pp 45-74
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the range of carbon nanocomposites containing nanoparticles of semiconductor photocatalysts and highlight their limitations in practical uses.
Abstract: The demand of clean decontaminated water supply is increasing with the increase in the population of the world. As a result, the global need for more economic and efficient technologies for water remediation is also rising. The entry of nanotechnology into the wastewater treatment engineering exemplified a noteworthy advancement, and nanoparticles (NPs) have been exhaustively studied for possible remediation applications. However, the wastewater treatment with dispersed NP suspensions is still inadequate and to some extent antagonistic on the grounds of health and environmental safety, even as NP reaction mechanisms, ecotoxicity, and their transport properties are quiet under exploration. Theoretically, the development of porous nanocomposites containing nanoparticles to overcome these concerns offers the next logical step for developing functional nanomaterials and nanocomposites that are better investigated in the wastewater industry. This purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the range of carbon nanocomposites containing NP of semiconductor photocatalysts being technologically advanced, at the same time highlighting their limitations in practical uses. The review also briefly covers what further improvements are needed to optimize existing nanocomposite-mediated water remediation processes to successively accomplish viable maturity.
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TL;DR: In this article, the most promising recent advances in the field of hybrid nanostructured materials for sunlight capture and solar energy exploitation by photocatalytic processes are described and future research opportunities and challenges associated with the design and development of highly efficient and cost-effective photosensitive nanomaterials for technological claims were outlined.
Abstract: Solar radiation is becoming increasingly appreciated because of its influence on living matter and the feasibility of its application for a variety of purposes. It is an available and everlasting natural source of energy, rapidly gaining ground as a supplement and alternative to the nonrenewable energy feedstock. Actually, an increasing interest is involved in the development of efficient materials as the core of photocatalytic and photothermal processes, allowing solar energy harvesting and conversion for many technological applications, including hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, pollutants degradation, as well as organic syntheses. Particularly, photosensitive nanostructured hybrid materials synthesized coupling inorganic semiconductors with organic compounds, and polymers or carbon-based materials are attracting ever-growing research attention since their peculiar properties overcome several limitations of photocatalytic semiconductors through different approaches, including dye or charge transfer complex sensitization and heterostructures formation. The aim of this review was to describe the most promising recent advances in the field of hybrid nanostructured materials for sunlight capture and solar energy exploitation by photocatalytic processes. Beside diverse materials based on metal oxide semiconductors, emerging photoactive systems, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and hybrid perovskites, were discussed. Finally, future research opportunities and challenges associated with the design and development of highly efficient and cost-effective photosensitive nanomaterials for technological claims were outlined.
22 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarized the state-of-the-art research work carried out over nano functionalized paper-based analytical devices and associated challenges/solutions in the point of care testing domain.
Abstract: Over the last few years, the microfluidics phenomenon coupled with the Internet of Things (IoT) using innovative nano-functional materials has been recognized as a sustainable and economical tool for point-of-care testing (POCT) of various pathogens influencing human health. The sensors based on these phenomena aim to be designed for cost-effectiveness, make it handy, environment-friendly, and get an accurate, easy, and rapid response. Considering the burgeoning importance of analytical devices in the healthcare domain, this review paper is based on the gist of sensing aspects of the microfabricated paper-based analytical devices (μPADs). The article discusses the various used design methodologies and fabrication approaches and elucidates the recently reported surface modification strategies, detection mechanisms viz., colorimetric, electrochemical, fluorescence, electrochemiluminescence, etc. In a nutshell, this article summarizes the state-of-the-art research work carried out over the nano functionalized paper-based analytical devices and associated challenges/solutions in the point of care testing domain.
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TL;DR: In theory, oxygen (O2) is an ideal chemical reagent because of its high relative abundance and negligible environmental toxicity as discussed by the authors. But in practice, by the nature of its ground state electronic c...
Abstract: In theory, oxygen (O2) is an ideal chemical reagent because of its high relative abundance and negligible environmental toxicity. In practice however, by the nature of its ground state electronic c...
References
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Abstract: To use solar irradiation or interior lighting efficiently, we sought a photocatalyst with high reactivity under visible light. Films and powders of TiO 2- x N x have revealed an improvement over titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) under visible light (wavelength 2 has proven to be indispensable for band-gap narrowing and photocatalytic activity, as assessed by first-principles calculations and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy.
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TL;DR: The field of photocatalysis can be traced back more than 80 years to early observations of the chalking of titania-based paints and to studies of the darkening of metal oxides in contact with organic compounds in sunlight as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The field of photocatalysis can be traced back more than 80 years to early observations of the chalking of titania-based paints and to studies of the darkening of metal oxides in contact with organic compounds in sunlight. During the past 20 years, it has become an extremely well researched field due to practical interest in air and water remediation, self-cleaning surfaces, and self-sterilizing surfaces. During the same period, there has also been a strong effort to use photocatalysis for light-assisted production of hydrogen. The fundamental aspects of photocatalysis on the most studied photocatalyst, titania, are still being actively researched and have recently become quite well understood. The mechanisms by which certain types of organic compounds are decomposed completely to carbon dioxide and water, for example, have been delineated. However, certain aspects, such as the photo-induced wetting phenomenon, remain controversial, with some groups maintaining that the effect is a simple one in which organic contaminants are decomposed, while other groups maintain that there are additional effects in which the intrinsic surface properties are modified by light. During the past several years, powerful tools such as surface spectroscopic techniques and scanning probe techniques performed on single crystals in ultra-high vacuum, and ultrafast pulsed laser spectroscopic techniques have been brought to bear on these problems, and new insights have become possible. Quantum chemical calculations have also provided new insights. New materials have recently been developed based on titania, and the sensitivity to visible light has improved. The new information available is staggering, but we hope to offer an overview of some of the recent highlights, as well as to review some of the origins and indicate some possible new directions.
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Abstract: When used as a photocatalyst, titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) absorbs only ultraviolet light, and several approaches, including the use of dopants such as nitrogen, have been taken to narrow the band gap of TiO(2). We demonstrated a conceptually different approach to enhancing solar absorption by introducing disorder in the surface layers of nanophase TiO(2) through hydrogenation. We showed that disorder-engineered TiO(2) nanocrystals exhibit substantial solar-driven photocatalytic activities, including the photo-oxidation of organic molecules in water and the production of hydrogen with the use of a sacrificial reagent.
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TL;DR: Plasmon-enhanced water splitting on composite photocatalysts containing semiconductor and plasmonic-metal building blocks is focused on, and recently reported plasMon-mediated photocatallytic reactions on plAsmonic nanostructures of noble metals are discussed.
Abstract: Recent years have seen a renewed interest in the harvesting and conversion of solar energy. Among various technologies, the direct conversion of solar to chemical energy using photocatalysts has received significant attention. Although heterogeneous photocatalysts are almost exclusively semiconductors, it has been demonstrated recently that plasmonic nanostructures of noble metals (mainly silver and gold) also show significant promise. Here we review recent progress in using plasmonic metallic nanostructures in the field of photocatalysis. We focus on plasmon-enhanced water splitting on composite photocatalysts containing semiconductor and plasmonic-metal building blocks, and recently reported plasmon-mediated photocatalytic reactions on plasmonic nanostructures of noble metals. We also discuss the areas where major advancements are needed to move the field of plasmon-mediated photocatalysis forward.
3,532 citations
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